Connie Kay Explained

Connie Kay
Birth Name:Conrad Henry Kirnon
Birth Date:27 April 1927
Birth Place:Tuckahoe, New York, U.S.
Death Place:New York City, U.S.
Genre:Jazz
Occupation:Musician
Instrument:Drums
Years Active:1940s–1990s
Past Member Of:The Modern Jazz Quartet

Conrad Henry Kirnon (April 27, 1927 – November 30, 1994) known professionally as Connie Kay, was an American jazz and R&B drummer,[1] who was a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet.[2]

Biography

Self-taught on drums, Kay began performing in Los Angeles in the mid-1940s. His drumming is recorded in The Hunt, the recording of a famous Los Angeles jam session featuring the dueling tenors of Dexter Gordon and Wardell Gray on July 6, 1947. He recorded with Lester Young's quintet from 1949 to 1955 and with Stan Getz, Coleman Hawkins, Charlie Parker, and Miles Davis.

Kay did R&B sessions for Atlantic Records in the early to mid-1950s, and he was featured on hit records such as "Shake, Rattle and Roll" by Big Joe Turner and Ruth Brown's "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean".[3]

Kay joined the Modern Jazz Quartet in 1955, replacing original drummer Kenny Clarke. He remained through the group's dissolution in 1974 and occasional reunions into the 1990s. In addition to his MJQ compatriots, he had an enduring partnership with cool jazz altoist Paul Desmond through the first half of the 1960s. He played drums on several of Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison's albums: Astral Weeks, one song on Saint Dominic's Preview, and four songs on Tupelo Honey.[4]

Kay was known for incorporating percussion instruments alongside his drum kit, such as timpani, small cymbals, triangle, bell tree, and darbukas, the latter referred to as "exotic-looking" drums in a 2006 article.[5] [6]

In 1989, Kay received an honorary doctorate of music from Berklee College of Music.[7]

Kay had a stroke in 1992, but recovered enough to resume performing. He died of cardiac arrest in Manhattan in 1994 at the age of 67.[8] He also played with Benny Goodman' Orchestra at the Carnegie Hall 40th. Anniversary Concert on January 17, 1978. Kay never recorded as a session leader.

Discography

As sideman

With Cannonball Adderley

With Chet Baker

With Ruth Brown

With Miles Davis

With Paul Desmond

With Bill Evans & Bob Brookmeyer

With Dexter Gordon and Wardell Gray

With Coleman Hawkins

With Jimmy Heath

With Scott Hamilton

With Milt Jackson

With John Lewis

With Jay McShann

With James Moody

With Van Morrison

With Joe Newman

With Sonny Rollins

With Michel Sardaby

With Lucky Thompson

With Bobby Timmons

With Randy Weston

Notes and References

  1. Book: The Virgin Encyclopedia of Fifties Music. Colin Larkin. Colin Larkin (writer). Virgin Books. 2002. Third. 1-85227-937-0. 225.
  2. Web site: Yanow. Scott. Connie Kay. AllMusic. July 25, 2017.
  3. Web site: What Do You Know About...Connie Kay. Moderndrummer.com. January 17, 2019.
  4. Tupelo Honey, Van Morrison LP (Warner WS-1950, 1971)
  5. Web site: Mariani. Rob. Connie Kay Plays the Drums Impeccably. All About Jazz. July 25, 2017. December 27, 2006.
  6. Web site: Watrous. Peter. Connie Kay, 67, Drummer, Dies; A Specialist of Sounds and Styles. The New York Times. July 25, 2017. December 3, 1994.
  7. Web site: Luther Hughes and friends tribute to the modern jazz quartet. Pete Carlson's Golf & Tennis. en-US. April 15, 2020.
  8. News: Connie Kay; Longtime Drummer With Modern Jazz Quartet. Los Angeles Times. December 2, 1994. September 30, 2018.
  9. Web site: The Modern Jazz Quartet Album Discography AllMusic. AllMusic. July 25, 2017.

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